Anna Eira Margarida Heiskari (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Mourão de Melo e Abreu; born 7 February 1990), known professionally as simply ABREU since 2017, is a Finnish singer and songwriter. Abreu first rose to fame in Finland after placing as the runner-up in the third series of the Finnish singing talent show '' Idols'' in 2007. Her music has been described as pop with influences from genres such as R&B,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. Since her participation in ''Idols'', Abreu has become one of the best-selling former ''Idols'' contestants in Finland, and one of the most successful Finnish female singers. She has

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

record sales surpassing 190,000 copies, which places her also among the 100 best-selling music artists of all time in Finland.

Early life

Abreu was born in

Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...

to a Portuguese father, Paulo Mourão de Melo e Abreu, and a Finnish mother, Liisa. She has an elder brother named Emil. As a young child, Abreu spent some time residing in Portugal, and speaks fluent Portuguese, Spanish, and English in addition to Finnish. Her parents later separated, with her father now residing in

Sintra Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated ...

, Portugal.

Career

2006–2007: ''Idols'' Series 3

In the summer of 2006, Abreu auditioned for the third season of the singing competition '' Finnish Pop Idol'' in the Finnish capital,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. She sang the

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

hit "Fallin'" and "Jumala" by Finnish rock band

Apulanta Apulanta is a Finnish rock band, founded in 1991 when its members were in their mid-teens. In September 2009, Apulanta members established an independent label, Päijät-Hämeen Sorto ja Riisto ("Päijänne Tavastian Oppression and Exploitation ...

. The contest's four judges were all impressed by the power and conviction of her voice, especially as Abreu was only sixteen years old. She passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest and then the live finals. Abreu's performances attracted heavy public support, however, during the top 5 results show, she landed in the bottom two contestants alongside Panu Larnos. Abreu survived the elimination and made it through to the live grand finale at

Helsinki Ice Hall Helsinki Ice Hall ( fi, Helsingin jäähalli, sv, Helsingfors ishall) is an indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. The arena has a seating capacity of 8,200. History Helsinki Ice Hall has been the home arena of HIFK of Liiga since its cons ...

with fellow contestant

Ari Koivunen Ari Koivunen (born 7 June 1984) is a Finnish heavy metal singer who rose to fame as the winner of the Finnish singing competition '' Idols'' in 2007. He was the vocalist of the Finnish heavy metal band ''Amoral'' from 2008 to 2017. Beside he ...

, who sang exclusively in the heavy-metal genre. On 5 April 2007, Koivunen won the crown as the third ''Finnish Idol'' with 57% of the public vote, with Abreu declared as runner-up.

2007–2008: ''Anna Abreu''

Following her participation in ''Idols'', Abreu was signed to Sony BMG Finland and her Latino-inspired, debut single "End of Love" was released in July 2007. The song debuted and peaked at number eight on the singles chart and was accompanied by Abreu's first music video. Her self-titled debut album, ''

Anna Abreu Anna Eira Margarida Heiskari (née Mourão de Melo e Abreu; born 7 February 1990), known professionally as simply ABREU since 2017, is a Finnish singer and songwriter. Abreu first rose to fame in Finland after placing as the runner-up in the thi ...

'', was released a month later on 22 August and was certified platinum within its first week after going straight into the chart at number one and selling 30,000 copies. To date, its first week sales are among the highest in Finnish music history. The album's second single "Ivory Tower" was released in October 2007, and after initially debuting at number seventeen, the song peaked at number five in its seventh week. A third single "Are You Ready" was released for promotional purposes only. In March 2008, ''Anna Abreu'' was certified

double-platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

having sold over 86,000 copies. In the same month at the

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

, Abreu was nominated for Best Finnish Act.

2008–2009: ''Now''

After a sell-out tour across Finland to promote her debut album, Abreu returned to the recording studio to work on her second album. On 31 July 2008, the lead single "Vinegar" was released. Produced by Patric Sarin and Rauli Eskolin, the dance-oriented song marked a creative step away from the pop and RnB roots of Abreu's debut album. The song hit the number one spot on the Finnish charts and stayed there, not only becoming Abreu's first number one single but also one of the highest-selling singles of 2008. The second single, "Silent Despair", was released in early October, followed by the album ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'' on 22 October. The album became Abreu's second number one album and was certified platinum, selling over 50,000 copies. It was the highest selling album of 2008 in Finland and spawned two further singles with "Something About U" and "Come Undone", though the songs were used only for promotional purposes. In early 2009, Abreu supported ''Now'' with a cross-country tour, which like her first tour, played to sold-out venues. It was reported that Abreu earned over 145,000 euros in 2008 through a combination of album sales, touring and public appearances, making her one of Finland's highest-earning singers.

2009–2010: ''Just a Pretty Face?''

In August 2009, less than a year after the release of Abreu's second album, her record label

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

announced that Abreu would release her third studio album later that year. The lead single "Music Everywhere" received its radio premiere on 5 August and was released five days later. After initially debuting at number four, the single rose to its peak of number two after Abreu's televised performance on the Finnish Children In Need, narrowly missing out on becoming Abreu's second number one single. Like "Vinegar" from her previous album, the single was dance-oriented, with Abreu stating that her new album would be almost completely dance and club based. In September 2009 it was announced that Abreu and fellow ''Idols'' contestant Antti Tuisku would be embarking on a joint tour across Finland named the ''Pop Royalty Tour'' in 2010 to support their new albums. Tickets for the dates sold out within a matter of minutes and further tour dates had to be added to accommodate the huge public demand. At the same time, Abreu's record label announced that a remixed version of "Vinegar", the lead single from Abreu's second album, would be released as her debut single in the UK on 22 November. It went on to peak at number 7 on the UK Club Chart. On 21 October, almost exactly one year after the release of her second album, Abreu released her third, '' Just A Pretty Face?'' in Finland. After only one day, the album was certified gold, having sold 23,000 copies in its first day of release alone. It peaked at number two on the Finnish albums chart and has since become Abreu's third consecutive platinum album. It was the sixth highest-selling album of 2009, despite only being released in October. On 11 April 2010, Abreu performed her new promotional single "Slam" on the first series of the Finnish ''

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'', which had replaced '' Idols'', the show that had given Abreu the platform from which to launch her music career in 2007.

2010–2012: ''Rush''

In late August 2010, Abreu announced via her official

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

page that she had begun work on her fourth album, ''Rush''. Abreu stated that she hoped to include a collaboration on the new album, and asked fans whom they would like to hear her duet with. The first single, "Hysteria", was released on 10 January 2011. Her fourth studio album was released on 30 March 2011 and debuted at number 1, becoming Abreu's third chart-topping album. The album's second single has been announced to be "Worst Part Is Over", featuring Finnish-Swedish rapper

Redrama Lasse Mellberg (born 2 October 1977), better known by his stage name Redrama, is a Finnish rapper. He made a breakthrough in 2003. Redrama, who performs primarily in English, but also in Swedish and Finnish was part of a hip-hop group Alien Allie ...

. They will perform the song on 17 April results show of the fifth series of ''Idols''.

2012–present: ''Greatest Hits'' and break from music

In 2011, Abreu announced that she would release a ''Greatest Hits'' album before taking a break from music.

Personal life

Abreu dated her fellow former '' Idols'' contestant Panu Larnos from 2007 but the relationship ended in the spring of 2009. In September of that year, she made her relationship with former model Joonas Wörlin public. The couple moved in together in November 2010 but split the following spring. In 2011, Abreu started dating Finnish professional snowboarder Lauri Heiskari and the couple became engaged in July 2012, marrying on 20 June 2013. Although Abreu officially took Heiskari as her surname, she continued to be known by her maiden name for subsequent music releases. Abreu is

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Discography

* ''

'' (2007) * ''

'' (2008) * '' Just a Pretty Face?'' (2009) * '' Rush'' (2011) * ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' (2012) * '' V'' (2014) * ''Sensuroimaton versio'' (2016) * ''Teipillä tai rakkaudella'' (2019)

Tours

Headlining * ''Anna Abreu Live'' Tour (2007–2008) * ''Now'' Tour (2008–2009) * ''Just A Pretty Face?'' Tour (2009–2010) * ''Pop Royalty'' Tour (co-headlining with

Antti Tuisku Antti Tuisku (born 27 February 1984) is a Finnish pop singer. He finished third in the 2003 '' Idols'' talent show, the Finnish version of ''Pop Idol''. Tuisku has sold over 300,000 records during his career in Finland. In 2016, Tuisku won the ...

) (2010) * ''Rush'' Tour (2011) * ''Over and Out'' Tour (2012) * ''V'' Tour (2014) As supporting act *

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

- Euphoria Tour (2011) Finland, 6–7 April

Awards and nominations

Emma Awards

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Vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...

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MTV Europe Music Awards

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2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

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References

External links

Anna Abreu's official website
(archived)
Anna Abreu – MySpace.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abreu, Anna 1990 births 21st-century Finnish women singers Finnish people of Portuguese descent Finnish pop singers Idols (franchise) participants Living people People from Vantaa Finnish Roman Catholics